As the author never made a will and was not married to architect Eva Gabrielsson, his partner of 32 years, his estate was awarded to his father Erland Larsson and brother Joakim under Swedish law. This sparked a dispute between the Larsson family and Gabrielsson.

Now, Erland Larsson has told Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbla that he wants to mend the rift by offering his son's former partner a settlement of 20 million kronor (GBP 1.73 million).

'We have always been willing to speak to Eva, but she has refused to talk to us during all these years. We cannot wait any longer. We must move on. That is why we offer this settlement,' he explained.

Last month, the Guardian compared the Millennium trilogy to US television programme The Wire, saying that both are 'seriously addictive', feature fast pacing and boast startling climaxes.